by Calculated Risk on 10/15/2012 08:54:00 PM

From the WSJ: Proposal Would Give Banks Protection in Cases Involving Top-Quality Mortgages

The proposal for the first time would establish a basic national standard for loans, known as a "qualified mortgage."

As part of its deliberation, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is considering providing a full legal shield for high-quality loans that qualify, mandating that judges rule in lenders' favor if consumers contest foreclosures, these people say.

For a smaller category of loans that still meet the "qualified mortgage" guidelines but carry higher interest rates—a group similar to "subprime loans"—lenders would receive fewer protections. In those cases, consumers could argue in court that lenders should have known that they couldn't afford the mortgage.

On Tuesday:
• At 8:30 AM ET, the Consumer Price Index for September will be released. The consensus is for CPI to increase 0.5% in September and for core CPI to increase 0.2%. This release will determine the Cost-of-living-adjustment for Social Security. Currently I expect COLA to be around 1.6%.

• At 9:15 AM, the Fed will release Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization for September. The consensus is for Industrial Production to increase 0.2% in September, and for Capacity Utilization to increase to 78.3%.

• At 10:00 AM, the October NAHB homebuilder survey will be released. The consensus is for a reading of 41, up from 40 in September. Although this index has been increasing lately, any number below 50 still indicates that more builders view sales conditions as poor than good.  This index bottomed at 8 in January 2009, and was at or below 22 for over 4 1/2 years.


Another question for the October economic prediction contest (Note: You can now use Facebook, Twitter, or OpenID to log in).